1980monte just a dum old boy from the hill what did you say Have tv with usb whats divX decoder or a media player? dvd,vcr,dvr,ps3 dont understand
currently working on all this current cable looking at direct,dish PS3 netflix capable dont watch alot, couple of shows a week couple diy,speed shows have at least 10-15 channels just blocked out easier to find somthing you want
First see if you can get the digital/analoge channels in your area. Enter your zip/postal
here
If you see stations you like that are listed in the green zone you can built an small antenna like
this one and should pull in the strong signals. I built
this one in about an hour.There are many
dyi designs that are bigger and pull in the weaker signals listed in the yellow and red zone of the listing. 40-60 bucks can get ya a pritty good antenna too like the
DB8. Im able to watch the hockey in 1080i and 6.1 surround sound - I actually started to watch hockey games again.
DivX is one form of video compression. Its like reducing the resolution of a photo that you would post here except its for video.
I mentioned websites that use the DivX as its the best bang for the buck ( video quality vs file size ) There are other forms of video compression that are better but this is the most popular. The video file is usually a .avi extension
( pictures from a digital camera are usually a .jpg , music is usually .mp3 etc as examples of other file extensions you might be familiar with )
The
media player is like your windows media player or vlc player on your PC except you can hook directly to your tv like the ps3, vcr, dvd, cable box. ( it displays pictures and plays music too as well as playing vids ) There are a few companies making these ( 50 - 100 bucks ) but I would look for the hdmi cable hook up on the unit if you have an hdtv already. Also look for the optical audio cable feature for real digital 6.1 surround sound if your set up ( amp ) permits this input.
Like I mentioned earlier you hook up the memory stick or hard drive containing the video files to the player via usb ports, pick the show on the menu, press play.
the second option is to look for the el cheapo dvd player ( I p/u one for 40 bucks to use on my old 20 yr old tv ) with a usb port on the front and it must specify it can play DivX video
like this one .
Use the pc to download vids onto the memory stick then plug the stick into dvd player usb port and your done.
OK now the actual tv with media player.
If you have a newer tv with the media player built in
like this one, well your in luck as you can skip purchasing the the stuff mentioned above. Many brands are now incorporating the DivX decoder / usb input port combo built into the tv. Look for the
DivX symbol on the box
here is another example of a tv with the media player feature in action:
YouTube - LG 2009 TVs - USB Connectivity and DivX HD how to
I have netfix option on my tv with internet line hook up but never used it so i cant tell ya which looks better but for run of the mill tv shows I dont mind the old standard definition ( 480p ) resolution. For the " Epic " movies and some of the syfy tv shows with all the CGI bling and stuff blowing up I like the HD files.
Internet - this is more of a tip for my friends in Canada but may apply to others - If you have B3LL or R0G3R$ as an internet provider that caps you at 25gig/mo then charges ya 2 or 3 bucks / gig after that ...... especially if you want the 1080p blueray stuff. ( 6-8 gig / movie ) you
will exceed the limit and pay the penalty. ( I was a subscriber to one of the BIG 2 .) I recommend you switch providers to
one with better value.
If you dont like the hassle of going to the pc , searching the web, downloading , waiting, unplug memory device, hook to tv.....then netflix is likely the way to go. But like anything else - once you do it a few times its as easy as retrieving your e-mail or logging into the TB website.
Hope this answers your question (s) and will help you decide on alternates to repeat programs and crap channels on cable/$at .
Wife likes a couple shows on HBO so guess there ain't much I am going to do about that:frown: Then we have the sports package for watching SpeedTV and Uconn bb games.
